THE FIRST NINETY DAYS

Someone died, and somehow the person handling it is you.

Nobody trains you for this. Within a day you are making decisions about certificates and caskets, calling a bank that puts you on hold, and answering questions you did not know were questions. Meanwhile you are grieving, and everyone keeps telling you to take care of yourself.

The First Ninety Days is the book that tells you what to do next.

It is arranged the way the work actually arrives: the first hours, the first week, the first month, the first ninety days. Every chapter answers "what do I do now" before it explains anything, and ends with a short list you can work through today. It is written for someone exhausted and skimming, and it says the important things twice on purpose.

What's inside:

- The only things that matter in the first few hours

- Who to call, in what order

- How many death certificates to order, and why more

- The funeral home conversation, and what you are allowed to decline

- Securing the house, the car, the phone, the pets

- Finding the will, and what happens when there isn't one

- Whether you even need probate, and how to get that answered

- The bank, the employer and the benefits you have to ask for

- Debts and creditors, and why you never pay them out of your own money

- Digital accounts, photos, and what can actually be recovered

- The two tax returns people forget

- The belongings, and the family fight you can prevent

- Twenty-eight phone scripts and a plain-English glossary

Perfect for: executors and personal representatives, a surviving spouse, the adult child who is holding it together, the friend who was named and never expected to be, and anyone handing this to someone who is drowning.

This is general information from a non-lawyer, not legal, tax or financial advice. Probate rules vary enormously by state.

Almost nothing is as urgent as it feels right now. Start with today's list.